1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to submergible diving sleds. More particularly, the present invention relates to a two-passenger diving sled that may be towed by a boat. The diving sled includes a pair of operator-adjusted ailerons mounted to the sled at its forward-most member for controlling the axial stability and depth of the diving sled.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Since the first days of power boating, towing an individual behind the power boat became popular. It became very fashionable to tow skiers behind power boats and, similarly, inflated inner tubes also have been towed behind power boats as they were operated on a body of water. Accordingly, being towed by a power boat atop the water is popular and well known.
Somewhat relatedly, in approximately the last two decades, recreational scuba diving has become popular as a means of exploring and adventuring under the water. In regions having bodies of water, scuba diving, both in fresh and salt water, has become a very common and an almost every day sport.
To operate quickly under water, scuba divers have adapted to devices such as underwater scooters which comprise a body having a motor sealed therein and a propeller for propelling the unit and its accompanying diver through the water. Such devices are often expensive and are restricted to relatively slow speeds because of their small motors. Furthermore, recharging of such devices is constantly required.
In an early response to answering the need for a maneuverable, underwater vehicle, efforts were undertaken to produce workable underwater sleds.
One of the first such efforts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,466, issued May 17, 1960, to Szymczyk et al. The sled disclosed in this reference is substantially composed of a flat, segmented board that doubles as an underwater sled and a surf board. The apparatus of Szymczyk includes a pair of adjustable fins mounted on the front half of the sled, but substantially behind the forward-most portion of the sled body.
A later attempt at providing an underwater sled is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,777 issued Jan. 13, 1976, to Colgan. The sled disclosed in this reference includes a sled body comprising a frame and including a pair of opposingly-situated, non-adjustable front-mounted sheets for, apparently, deflecting water. Mounted rearward of the sheets are a pair of rotatably adjustable plate-like members for controlling depth.
Although pursuing the right course, the apparatus of the discussed references fail to provide maximum control to the operator because of the placement of the ailerons. The known sleds further fail to maximize the utility of a water screen by, in the case of Szymczyk, not utilizing such a member at all and, in the case of Colgan, using fixed members. Furthermore, the known sleds offer no practical method of allowing for start-up from the bed of the water body within which the sled is operated in that, when stopped, the sled merely lies upon the floor. Start-up is hazardous because the floor is typically full of irregular objects and no practical "runway" is available.
Accordingly, known methods for allowing the diver maximum freedom of maneuverability while maintaining a practical working sled were previously unknown.